Hammocking in new latex mattress
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My wife and I have a new Gardner latex mattress, medium firmness. They're pretty close-lipped about construction and won't talk ILDs, but they do claim all-Talalay construction - though they spell it Telelay; inside the mattress casing their medium and firm are both 6" of a firmer latex under a 3" comfort layer of less firm latex. (Their plush and ultra plush have a 4" comfort layer and cost a little more.) I'm a back-and-side sleeper. This mattress was supremely comfortable in the shop on both back and side over about fifteen minutes - no pressure points, cushy support; the firm mattress was a bit unyielding under shoulder and hip and I was a little worried about pressure points. But last night I slept on my back and woke feeling a bit like I was in a hammock. Particularly when I went to roll onto my side and found a bit of pressure against the bottom of my rib cage and the top of my thigh. As if they were on the edges of a hole that my butt had formed during the night. I had to get up an hour early; the mattress was quite warm and shaped for back sleeping, and I couldn't get comfortable in any other position (and felt a little hammocky in that position). A week or so ago I pulled a muscle in my back at the gym, and now have a little occasional pain in a narrow stripe from the left of my spine out towards the left, and when I was trying to get comfortable on my side I felt pain there. My pelvis was trying to tip up because my legs were out of the hole my hip was in. I've been mostly sleeping on my side - actually on the front part of my side, so my weight isn't so much on my butt as on the fronts of my thighs, and I get better support without the hammocking. I've read on this site in a few places that latex often sinks in a little bit after a few hours. I'm wondering if anyone can give details, because I only have a week in which to decide what to do. I think my options at this point only really include keeping this mattress and swapping it in for the firmer version - but will that be worse for me? What's behind the hammocking? Maybe I should just lose weight, but that's not a good short-term solution. My wife loves this mattress. What should we do? |
Re: Hammocking in new latex mattress
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I don't think latex sinks in a litlle bit after a few hours. I think your muscles relax as you move to a deeper sleep. Maybe pull out the top 3" comfort layer and replace that with a 2" (or less) comfort layer. Then you have less room to hammock and you will be closer to your support layer(s). However this might make side sleeping even less comfortable. Although you would probably sleep better on your back. I think ultimately you will have to choose between the two positions and adjust your mattress to one or the other. If you wife loves the mattress, maybe you can just adjust your half of the bed. |
Re: Hammocking in new latex mattress
| I DO think latex develops a softness to it overnight from body warmth and that combined with muscle relaxation leads to back pain for some. |
Re: Hammocking in new latex mattress
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The back pain's from lying sideways in a hammock shape, which I can assure you does exist in the bed after six hours' lying in it. (I expect the pain to go away as the muscles knit, but the last time this happened that took a while.) On the spectrum of back pain this is definitely in the slight end. This is not a disassemblable mattress; the layers are glued together. If we do go with the firmer mattress I suppose there's always the option of a topper down the road, but I'm concerned that some of the sag might be in the underlayer. Can anyone shed some light on this? There are brief mentions of warmth and sagging in latex mattresses posted this forum (or the archived version thereof) by people who sound like they know whereof they speak. This is all rather new to me, though. If it weren't for this effect I'd say I love this mattress; it really feels lovely otherwise. This message was modified Sep 13, 2007 by tcdonaghey
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Re: Hammocking in new latex mattress
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Well, I have slept on 4 different layers of latex over time, and none of them were heat sensitive. None of them changed their feel after a number of hours on them. However maybe my latex experience is an anomoly. It certainly is possible that the supprt layers are contributing to the hammocking effect. Without knowing ILDs, it is tough to say for sure. Since it is glued together, that gives you no option of fixing the mattress. Your next firm mattress will be glued together too, I'm guessing. Maybe contact the manufacturer and tell them you are dissatisfied. See what they have to say. If you do, ask them what the ILDs are for that mattress and the firm version. Also ask if it is 100% latex from top to bottom. Good luck. This message was modified Sep 14, 2007 by MequonJim
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Re: Hammocking in new latex mattress
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Their response is "come in and try the firm - you're still under 30 days." It's all latex, but they won't talk ILDs. I gather from this forum and a phone conversation that they used to customize latex mattresses, found it a hassle, and standardized on four specific arrangements. |
Re: Hammocking in new latex mattress
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tcdonaghey wrote: Their response is "come in and try the firm - you're still under 30 days." It's all latex, but they won't talk ILDs. I gather from this forum and a phone conversation that they used to customize latex mattresses, found it a hassle, and standardized on four specific arrangements. The ILDs are mentioned on their website, though I found the page via google not via their mess of a website. They claim to use blended Talalay but by reading their website it looks like they don't know the difference between natural and blended Talalay. Soft: 14ILD Medium: 19ILD Firm: 19ILD (not a typo, for some reason they use 19ILD for both Medium and Firm) Extra Firm: 38ILD Based on our experiences, the Extra Firm would be the minimum you would need to escape that hammock effect. For us, it still wasn't enough and we're going to the 44ILD blended shortly. |
Re: Hammocking in new latex mattress
| The Gardner's Mattress configuration sounds way too soft and that is why you are uncomfortable. It is always better to go firmer than you think since you can always soften up a mattress or get used to it firmer in my opinion. |
Re: Hammocking in new latex mattress
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TC,Gardner is very easy about mattress exchanges, sometimes even going two-three times without any cost to the consumer (do a search on the old forum for Gardner Mattress), so take your time in your decision.I don't know which Gardner Mattress location you purchased from but I have been to the Newton store several times and have always been happy with their honesty, both with their products as well as the competition.As a matter of fact, when I was going through my latex mattress purchase, and was in doubt whether I should stick with my latex kit (purchased elsewhere) they didn't try to steer me to one of their mattresses- they offered sugestions on what to try and it was one of their mattress with 3-layers of 40ILD latex that gave me some ideas to try with my kit, which, ultimately led me to my current configuration.Matt Power from Gardner can custom build a latex mattress to your liking if you are not happy with their current offerings I would contact him personally.Jeff This message was modified Sep 15, 2007 by JCturboT
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Re: Hammocking in new latex mattress
| JCTurboT, from your description of the Garner Mattress, it sounds like the poster is lucky he bought a mattress he can have several comfort exchanges if need be so he should not worry and just exchange the mattress for much firmer knowing he has options. |
Re: Hammocking in new latex mattress
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One of the characteristics of talalay latex is that sinking feeling you get in the hip area. A lot of people think this happens when the latex softens up after a few hours, but actually it happens pretty much at once. It's just that after a few hours you really start to feel it and it hurts! An ILD of 19 is what most manufacturers would consider soft, not medium and certainly not firm. Soft latex provides very poor support and contributes to muscle fatigue. And if you've got 14 ILD latex on top of that you are really sleeping on a marshmellow. No wonder you are sinking in. Try the firmer configuration. Hammocking is just your body sinking into the soft latex. For some people this isn't a problem. Obviously it is for you. Firmer might help. But for some people latex in any configuration just doesn't provide comfortable support for their back. This is particularly true of side sleepers. Good luck. I hope this works out for you. |